OVERVIEW Class Outline and Worksheet

Scholar Exchange: Fourth Amendment Introductory Level Outline and Worksheet

Scholar Exchange: Fourth Amendment

Introductory Level Class Outline and Worksheet

OVERVIEW Part I: Introduction to the Constitution's Text Part II: Hypothetical Part III. Founding Stories of the Fourth Amendment Part IV. Key Fourth Amendment Supreme Court Cases INTERACTIVE CONSTITUTION RESOURCES

Resources for the Fourth Amendment

BIG QUESTIONS Why did the Framers put the Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights? What was the Founding generation's vision for the Fourth Amendment and its protection against unreasonable searches and seizures? When does the Fourth Amendment allow the government to search you or seize your property? When is a government's search or seizure "reasonable"? How has the Supreme Court interpreted the Fourth Amendment over time? And how has it dealt with the challenge of shaping the Fourth Amendment's meaning in light of new technologies, especially as it applies to public schools?

BIG IDEA

Before the government can search your home or seize your property, it needs a good reason. This is the big idea behind the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement. The government needs particularized suspicion--a reason that's specific to each suspect--before it can get a warrant. Broadly speaking, our Constitution says that the police should only be able to invade a person's rights to privacy, property, or liberty if they have a specific reason to think that that specific suspect has done something wrong.

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Scholar Exchange: Fourth Amendment Introductory Level Outline and Worksheet

Part One: The Text of the Fourth Amendment Write down two or three words to help you define these key terms in the Fourth Amendment.

Search

Seizure

Probable Cause

Any other words you think would be helpful to define?

Hypothetical Question: Can the government track you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for an entire month, using your cell phone data and location information?

Answer at the beginning of the session

Answer at the end of the session

Part Two: Early Fourth Amendment Cases Complete the chart based on one of the early Fourth Amendment cases.

Possible cases include Olmstead v. United States, Katz v. United States, United States v. Miller, or Smith v. Maryland.

Court Case

What was the question?

How did the Court rule?

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Scholar Exchange: Fourth Amendment Introductory Level Outline and Worksheet

Part Three: Modern Fourth Amendment Cases What are some instances when you have an "expectation of privacy"?

Complete the chart with information about Carpenter v. United States.

What was the question?

How did the Court rule? Why is this case significant?

What are some modern questions about Fourth Amendment rights you can think of?

Notes and questions:

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